By Patrick Bray DLIFLC Public Affairs Editor’s note: This article is a feature from the Foreign Area Officer program’s monthly officer professional development series at DLIFLC. MONTEREY, Calif. – Dr. Guy Ziv, an associate professor at the American University School of International Service in Washington, D.C., spoke to Foreign Area Officers in language training at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Feb. 15 about current Israeli policy and the role of the U.S. Coincidentally, Ziv’s lecture took place on the same day Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump in Washington, in which they spoke about settlements, the Iran Deal, the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, and the two state solution – two states for two groups of people. Trump has declared that he is not wedded to the two state solution, a change from U.S. policy, according to Ziv. “U.S. support of Israel is one of the few bipartisan issues in Washington today and the reason is that the two nations are democratic and share common values such as self-determination, social justice, pluralism and multiculturalism,” said Ziv. But the U.S. and Israel also have shared interests. Israel is considered a very dependable ally, from the Cold War to fighting radical regimes of today and in the prevention of proliferation of nuclear weapons, especially in Iran. As the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel receives an annual aid package from the U.S., receiving about $38 billion in 2016. In return, the U.S. receives Israeli technology, which is considered well advanced in areas such as airport security and cyber security,...

By Patrick Bray DLIFLC Public Affairs MONTEREY, Calif. – The Foreign Area Officer Program at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center hosted the Joint FAO Course Jan. 23-27 at the Weckerling Center on the Presidio of Monterey. FAOs, who come from the four branches of the U.S. military, are regionally focused and are considered experts on political-military issues. FAOs typically begin their careers at the one-week course. Once their FAO training is completed, which includes language training and graduate school in a regionally focused topic, they are expected to serve as defense attachés, security cooperation officers and political-military planners worldwide. Col. Phil Deppert, DLIFLC commandant, welcomed all the new FAOs to the Institute and to their profession during his welcoming remarks Jan. 24. Though Deppert is a military intelligence officer, he spoke about the cooperation and the need for FAOs in the services. The week consisted of training and guest lecturers who are experts in the field of foreign affairs, specializing in regional topics, global plans and operations, and security cooperation. The advice offered ranged cultural faux pas in a foreign country, to how to navigate the diplomatic halls of the Embassies where they will be serving. Welcome to the community Keynote speaker Rear Adm. Todd Squire, director for international engagement, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., welcomed the young officers to the community of FAOs. “I’ve always wanted to be a FAO, even before I joined the Navy,” said Squire, who is a two-time graduate of DLIFLC in German in 2002 and Turkish in 2010. He offered some...

By Patrick Bray DLIFLC Public Affairs MONTEREY, Calif. – Barbara Mulvaney, a human rights lawyer who is currently an international consultant, spoke to students studying the Iraqi dialect of Arabic at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Middle East School II Jan. 23 about women in Iraq. “Put yourself in a woman’s place and what she must do to maintain a household,” said Mulvaney. “When you cannot provide – bombs coming in, no electricity – those are women’s problems.” Mulvaney had worked at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad from August 2009 until July 2011 as deputy director of constitutional and legislative affairs and as the senior adviser for the Iraq Inspector General and Bureau of Supreme Audit Anti-Corruption Coordinating Office. “When we had money coming into our programs I thought it’d be nice to get some of that money to the women,” said Mulvaney. Citing the gender equality and women’s empowerment mandate, derived from the United Nations Charter, which reaffirms equal rights of men and women, Mulvaney was able to secure funding for some women’s initiatives in Iraq. “This is called U.N. gender mainstreaming – how it effects all genders,” said Mulvaney. “Prisons, police training facilities, how is that going to affect the women?” Speaking to the students mostly about her own experiences in Iraq, Mulvaney encourage them to embrace the culture of Iraq along with learning the dialect. To better understand, she offered a few book selections: Lawrence of Arabia and the writings of Gertrude Bell. Reading these books, according to Mulvaney, will help the students gain a better understanding of the forming of Iraq, the culture...

By Patrick Bray DLIFLC Public Affairs Editor’s note: This article is a feature from the Foreign Area Officer program’s monthly officer professional development series at DLIFLC. MONTEREY, Calif. – Dr. Christopher Darnton, an associate professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, spoke to Foreign Area Officers in language training at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Jan. 18 about the U.S. role in Latin America. “Latin America has become a zone of peace with an asterisk,” said Darnton, summarizing the geographic region. His asterisk implies that “Latin America has had very few wars, but does not mean the hemisphere is unified.” The U.S. is concerned with instability among other regional problems. “We have not seen the last difficult regime change in Latin America,” said Darnton. Darnton based his lecture on security issues defined in the U.S. Southern Command posture statement, which includes transnational organized crime; foreign terrorist fighters; Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah; regional stability; and Russia and China engagement. The corner stone of U.S. foreign policy in Latin American, according to Darnton, is the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which in summary states that there will be no new European colonies allowed in the Caribbean and South America. For the U.S., is was all talk for a century, but more than willingly enforced by the British Navy as London and Washington were in agreement. President Theodore Roosevelt later added a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904. “If a nation shows that it knows how to act with reasonable efficiency and decency in social and political matters, if it keeps order and pays...

DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2016 — A new display at the Pentagon honors military officers who serve as regionally focused experts in political-military operations with advanced language skills, cultural understanding and the ability to advise senior military and civilian strategic decision-makers in an era of persistent conflict. The Defense Language and National Security Education Office dedicated the Foreign Area Officer heritage display Dec. 12 at the apex between corridors 7 and 8 on the second floor of the Pentagon. Daniel P.C. Feehan, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for readiness, performing the duties of the assistant secretary of defense for readiness, hosted the ceremony. Diana Banks, deputy assistant secretary of defense for force education and training — the Defense Department’s senior language authority, also spoke at the dedication. Ceremony Kicks Off Awards Program The ceremony commenced the annual awards program for foreign area officers to recognize the capabilities and accomplishments of current and former FAOs from all of the services. The display in the Pentagon is the first of its kind to recognize the contributions of FAOs to DoD and its allies and partners, officials said. “As you walk through the FAO heritage wall display, you will see the history of FAOs ensuring readiness within the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard,” Feehan said. “FAOs are prepared to apply their strategic focus and regional expertise to advise senior leaders and develop and coordinate security cooperation.” Almost 2,600 FAOs are on active duty in more than 140 countries, and their history extends to before World War II. No two FAOs fulfill the same...

By Staff Sgt. Debra Best I Corps KUMAMOTO CITY, Japan – When bilateral coordination between two countries is part of a military exercise, one piece is vitally important: communication. This was especially true for U.S. and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force service members as they conducted a bilateral annual command post exercise known as Yama Sakura. Translating between the English and Japanese is a difficult task, but it is even more challenging for those translating for military forces. “When we have new people or people who are interested in it, I tell them you have to know four languages: one is English, second is Japanese, third is U.S. military language and the fourth is [Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces] terminology,” said Daniel Reese, U.S. Army Japan civilian language specialist. “It’s so different,” continued Reese. “You can’t just take somebody from the civilian world to come over and interpret for the military and expect them to do your level, because it’s totally different.” Knowing all the military terminology is important, however to build trust and relationships interpreters must translate with finesse. “A lot of people who don’t have exposure to a different language don’t understand that it’s not just the words themselves coming out of your mouth, but you also have to have a general understanding of what they’re talking about, because sometimes things do not translate that well,” said Sgt. Travis Wilson, I Corps signal intelligence analyst and Japanese translator. “Sometimes you get those commanders who say, ‘I need you to translate this exactly the way I’m saying it.’ I’ve had to tell commanders that’s impossible because you’re not taking under...